Ivy of Elemoor
by ShifuYaku
Summary: This will be added later once I write more on Ivy.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

_Phttt! _went the arrow as it flew past Ivy's head. She looked on at the target, and watched the arrow miss. "Oh, I was sure it would hit!" she exclaimed. As fast as she had fired, she pulled another arrow from her quiver, strung it, and released. This time it hit the target—a squat, lumpy log set on a stump of a dead tree.

She glanced over at Milindir, her ebony-skinned friend. He had been her best friend after Ivy had saved him countless times, and he had saved her back as well. "You're getting better, Ivy. I wish I could be as good as you, but I don't think I ever will be," Milindir said mildly, pushing his long, dark hair from in front of his face. He winked at her. Suddenly, he whipped around from Ivy and, just as fast as she had, strung an arrow and shot at the target. He missed; the arrow flew off into the forest and disappeared. Shaking his head, he stomped over to retrieve the arrow from the ground.

"I just don't understand!" Milindir yelled at his bow. "What is wrong with you? You never do anything I want you to do!" Ivy had met Milindir in Oakmidge, a land that was on the outskirts of the realm of Elemoor. The land was meant for farming, and it had to be further away than anything else, being separated from the other lands by the Gilandrin forest. Not many of the Oakmidgers were hunters. She had gone there because they sold the best clothes to wear, for their wheat and cotton crops that were grown were watered with the same magic water that the Gilandrin trees grew from.

Milindir strung another arrow angrily, and looked at Tebirtha, Ivy's other friend. Ivy had met Tebirtha in Hedgebrec, another land in the Elvin kingdom, far away from Oakmidge. Hedgebreccians and Oakmidgers did not get along very well, according to history long ago.

Tebirtha calmly said to Milindir, "You know, if you doubt yourself and get angry over little things, _and_ not practice enough, that might be why you keep missing." She looked at him with uncertainty, and then shook her head. She tapped her birch wood bow against her leg, and flipped her short red hair out of her face.

"Thanks." Milindir sneered at her, and turned around, took the arrow out of the bow, put the arrow back in the quiver, and started polishing the bow with the hem of his sleeve. He snickered softly and looked over his shoulder to see if she was watching.

Tebirtha looked fiercely at him. "What? I'm just trying to help you out here!" she said, gritting her teeth. "You keep screaming at everything you miss, and if you keep doing that while we hunt, you'll scare ALL of the animals away; not just from yourself, but from us, too!"

Milindir turned around and started to open his mouth, but Ivy stepped in between them and said sternly, "Just stop it now. I really don't want you two to start it while I'm here. I'm going to go look for my arrows." She walked away quickly.

While she was walking, Ivy thought about her two friends. They never stopped arguing! _But that's what you get when you put a Hedgebreccian and an Oakmidger together_, she thought. _They will never get along. They are from two different parts of this world, and I just don't know. _ She shook her head, then looked over at them. They seemed to have started arguing again, about archery, nonetheless. She could hear many words being said, even those not wanted to be heard, and Ivy looked disbelievingly at them, turned around and kept walking. _It won't do any good if I get in the way. They are just like that._

She came up to the target, and removed the arrow sticking out of it. It had a scratch, but other wise it was fine. Ivy found the other arrow about five feet away from the target. She picked it up, and studied it. None of this arrow seemed to be damaged. They were good arrows, along with all thirty of the others in her quiver. She never wasted her arrows, and if she broke one, all she had to do was sharpen a branch and add some feathers she always had with her. The arrows had silver feathers, and Ivy picked them because they were special. No one else used them because no one else had them, as far as she knew.

She made her way back to the site. The two elves had stopped arguing, and had a look of panic on their faces. They were pacing about, watching the bushes to the west of the campsite.

"What's the matter?" Ivy asked quizzically. She looked over at the bushes, but saw nothing.

"Um, we have to leave this place and get back to the river," Milindir said shakily. He looked over his shoulder, over at Tebirtha, then back at Ivy.

"Why?" Ivy asked.

"Because he just saw two soldiers running down the path, about five minutes ago. They looked like the King's soldiers. I think they're coming back for us, by the looks they gave us as they ran by," said Tebirtha hurriedly. She ran over to the riverbed, and stood by Milindir.

"Shouldn't we see what they want?" asked Ivy, as they started running toward the river.

"No, I don't think so. Just keep running," Milindir said. He got into a boat that they had brought with them. "Get in! Hurry!"

Ivy and Tebirtha got in the small boat as well, and grabbed the oars. They started rowing swiftly out into the river. Milindir and Tebirtha both sighed as they got further from the bank. "That was close! I don't think I want to do that again, "said Milindir, laughing.

"I agree," said Tebirtha. "I just hope that they weren't planning to arrest us. I think that they had been chasing us for quite some time, it seems. They knew where we were!" Milindir stared at Ivy, who had just opened the map of Elemoor.

"Where are we close to?" Milindir asked, looking over Ivy's shoulder.

"Well, I think the way that we are going, we will be in Oakmidge in not even ten minutes," Ivy said after she had studied the map. Ivy had learned to read Elemoor maps at a young age after being on the road so long. The maps were heavily coded and non-readable almost to those who weren't trained to read them. This was because the High Kingdom didn't want the other side reading their way around Elemoor. But, reading a coded map was like watching the stars to Ivy, it was so simple.

Minutes passed, and every once in a while, they saw deer, birds, and other animals around in the Gilandrin Forest. It was bigger than all 5 lands put together, and nobody had ever gone through it without coming across something magical. That forest was mysterious, and no one knew exactly what was in it. It would not be long before they were out of it and into Oakmidge.

Soon, they came up to a docking tree. "There's the dock," said Milindir. They rowed up to a branch that was protruding outward, and Milindir tied the rope to it.

The dock had been carved into the roots of the Arethon tree of the Arethon river. All of the docking trees around Elemoor had a special magic that symbolized the realm you were visiting; the one in Hedgebrec turned pink, the tree in Dirinfir turned mauve, the tree in Flamirtor took a shade of olive, and the great Golden Tree had one small dock tree next to it that turned a lighter shade of gold. This tree turned cerulean when the water in the river mixed with the tree's magic.

Ivy, Tebirtha, and Milindir got out of the canoe and walked up the stairs to the bridges that lead to the marketplace. When they crossed the bridge, an astonishing sight met their eyes.

Everything had been decorated to the King and Queen's likes. The exquisite banners of the Golden Tree were hung everywhere! Everybody in the market was bustling about. Soldiers crossed in front of the small group, and they pulled back, hoping the soldiers wouldn't see them.

"What's going on?" Ivy asked a small child passing by.

"The King and Queen are here on visitation," he chirped, and then ran off. Ivy turned to Milindir and Tebirtha and said, "I wonder why the King and Queen are here."

"Maybe they are here to see you," joked Milindir. He looked at Ivy, and smiled ridiculously.

"Don't tease about things like that. You might be right," Tebirtha warned sternly. She looked at Ivy. "I mean, really, why would they want you, though, right?" Tebirtha frowned.

"I don't know. Maybe they know about my…skills," said Ivy quietly. She thought about her mother, Maneta of Dirinfir.

Her mother lived in Dirinfir before she had met Cloretec, Ivy's father. She had given Ivy a great gift when she was born— a gift of magic. Ivy hadn't seen her mother since she was six years old, because she had disappeared one day and never came back.

Ivy had a pair of wings to fit her magical enthrall, hidden beneath the dark brown cloak given to her by Milindir's mother. She had never told anyone about them except her two friends. Her wings were special indeed. They were eleven feet in span, and they were a dazzling silver.

They were like dragon wings, but they had feathers, and on the inside of the wings, there were small golden feathers between large silver feathers, and when the light shone on them, they flashed a brilliant rainbow of color. Ivy used the silver feathers in her arrows when they fell out. They were unusual feathers because they made no noise, and that was the reason that she used them.

It was amazing that these huge wings could fit beneath her cloak and not be seen, but they could be hidden because of her magic. Ivy could conceal the wings with the magic cape and they would not be seen to any eyes unless the cape was removed. She never took off the cloak unless it was absolutely necessary to fly or to get away from danger.

While she had been thinking, she hadn't noticed that people were watching the troupe. Ivy looked around, and noticed that everyone was looking at her. She shivered. "What are they looking at?" Ivy whispered to Tebirtha and Milindir.

"I don't know, but you must be famous around here if they are looking at you like that!" whispered Tebirtha. She nervously picked her head up and looked around.

Ivy waved timidly and said, "Hello." Everybody smiled at her, and then a soldier in light, elvin-made armour, with the symbol of the Golden Tree on his front, walked up to her from his corner and said, "Are you Ivy? I have asked many people who you were, and I have finally found you. You were hard to find."

"Yes, but what do you need me for?" Ivy asked nervously.

The soldier replied in a rich voice, "I have orders to take you to the King and Queen. They have summoned you to meet them." Milindir nudged Ivy and whispered, "That is one of the soldiers that was running after us. He must have followed us from the forest."

Ivy looked at the soldier suspiciously. She turned her head towards her two friends, then back at him. "Can they come, too?" she asked, motioning towards Milindir and Tebirtha.

"Yes, but on one condition. They must stay outside the room. Is that understood?" asked the soldier.

"It is, my fine friend," said Ivy with a smile. The soldier walked toward a ladder going to the canopy, and began climbing it, and Ivy and her friends followed him to meet their King and Queen.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Ivy, Tebirtha, and Milindir came up to a room that had been carved into the tree. It was richly adorned with tapestries, banners, and other exquisite decorations that were fitting to royal elvin kings and queens. The soldier stopped in front of the door that had a banner of the Golden Tree on it.

The banner had two stars hanging above a golden tree and the tree was standing inside a crown; the stars stood for the two great elvin kings that had ruled before them; the tree represented the actual tree that stood in the realm of the Golden Tree, and the crown symbolized that only royalty and their families, nobles, and servants of the King and Queen could live there.

"Now, remember, only you can go inside. Your friends cannot come with you, but they will be here the whole time," the soldier said to Ivy softly. He opened the door, and Ivy stepped in.

"Close the door, Frederick," said the woman sitting next to the man in the throne. She was the Queen of Elemoor.  
"Yes, your Highness," as the soldier closed the door with a quiet click, but before he left, he winked at Ivy. Ivy looked at him puzzled, and then looked around the room. There were two chairs in the back of the room, and a smaller one next to them. The King sat in the left chair, and the Queen in the right. Next to the King's chair sat Prince Jeretho, their son. Ivy knew it was the prince because he wore a crown the size of a log. She wondered how he could wear that, and then shook her head.

"Come closer, Ivy," said the Queen. Prince Jeretho looked at Ivy, and then settled back in his chair.

Ivy walked toward the King and Queen and knelt before them, with her head downwards. "Do not bow, please. We already have too many people rushing about saying, 'Does this please you, your Highness?' or 'Can I get you anything, your Highness?'" said the King exasperatedly. He motioned his hands for her to stand up, and Ivy did.

"We have called you to have you help us. We know of your special abilities, and we ask that you use them to assist us," the Queen said. She looked at Ivy with interest.

Ivy asked nervously, "How did you find out that I was…special? And what do you need me for? I cannot do anything great."

"Oh, contraire. You have great powers, Ivy of Elemoor. Yes, we know all about you," said the King knowingly, as he saw the surprised look on her face.

"Please, your Highness, tell me of how you have found out. I have told no one of my magic, except my two friends," pleaded Ivy. She looked at them mournfully.

"Please, call me Fanar. I will tell you my story." The King squirmed in his chair, and began. "A while back, I met Maneta. We had met each other a while back, before I was king, and that is how I knew her. I didn't recognizer, but then I saw her bag (a green one with purple dots) and I knew it was exactly her. No one else had a bag like that. But any way, I had been hunting out in the forest next to my realm, and she came wandering up to me. She seemed delirious. Anyway, I could see that she was hurt. She said. 'Please, sir, can you help me? I am trying to find my daughter, Ivy. I do not know where she is, or what she looks like now, but I am sure that if you told the King that I need to speak with her, he will find her for me. If he finds her, have him tell my daughter about my troubles.' I promised her I would tell you of her troubles, and that is what I am doing. I have gone around all of Elemoor trying to find you because of what else she told me."

Ivy was speechless. She took a deep breath, and asked shakily, "What did she say? I must know. I haven't seen her in a long time." She pushed her forest green hair that had fallen in front of her face back behind her delicately pointed ears. Tears were running down her face. She wiped them away, and said, "Please proceed."

"Alright, if you want me to. Are you okay?" he asked, staring closely at her.

Ivy sniffed, and then nodded. She thought about what her mother had been through, and then more tears started running down her face again.

"Ok. Now, where were we? Oh, yes. I met her in the forest right outside my realm, and she came up to me." He stopped. "I am sorry, dear love. Are you all right? Here, please take my handkerchief," King Fanar said, as he handed her the embroidered cloth. Ivy had started crying again, then stopped as she took the handkerchief, and wiped her tears in it. Ivy looked at it and smiled. She turned her head up to the king, and said, "I am terribly sorry. I just didn't know that my mother was still alive, and it hurts me to think about her. Please, go on with your story." She sniffed and waved her hand for him to go on.

King Fanar looked at her, and then looked at his wife. "Dear, could you take Jeretho outside, please? I rather him not be here."

"Dad! I want to be here. Ivy seems she needs moral support," protested Prince Jeretho. He raised his eyebrow at Ivy, then crossed his arms and sighed.

The king said sternly to his son, "No, the only moral support she is going to get is from her friends. Ivy, would you like your friends to be in here with you?" He turned toward Ivy again.

"Yes, please. That would be nice," she sniffed, and then turned her head down, and looked at the polished floor.

"Legosa," the king said to his wife, "please send in her two friends in after you, if you would do so kindly." His wife nodded, and walked out the door, with the prince behind her. Soon after, Ivy's two friends ran in and sat next to Ivy, and gave her a hug.

"Ivy, are you all right? I could sense that you were sad," said Tebirtha. She looked deeply into Ivy's dark green eyes, and wiped her tears away. "It will be alright. We are here." Tebirtha looked over at Milindir, who looked at Ivy with concern.

"Ivy, you know we will always be here for you," he said to Ivy, and smiled at her warmly.

"Thanks, my friends." Ivy smiled, gave them a hug back, and then looked at the king. "I am ready now. You may go on."

The king looked at her two friends, and then continued. "Your mother was hurt on her leg. It was deep wound, as if a sword had cut it. There was blood all over the makeshift bandage. 'I feel I don't have much time. The wizard, Aricoth, is after me. One of his soldiers did this to me. He has found out the secret dealings I have been having outside of Dirinfir. I have been transporting innocent people out of there so they can get away from him; I am one of the few that do not work for that evil man,' she gasped. She closed her eyes, and fell in a swoon. I saw that she had fainted.

"I then picked her up and set her on my horse, Slater. I got on with her, and we rode as fast as we could to my realm. I took her up to our finest doctors, and they are still treating her as we speak. It seems that the cut has been poisoned, and the wound is not healing, but the medicine we are using is the finest. It has been imported straight from Flamirtor, the medical remedies realm. Ivy, your mother is at the Golden Tree, and I feel that you need to see her. She hasn't seen you in a long time, and she might die. But, I hope with all my heart that she doesn't.

"When we get there, we can discuss the issue that I called you forward for. We cannot talk about it here because there are too many listening ears. But, when we get there, I must warn you. There are many spies in Golden Tree, and I have been locating them, but my army has not found all of them yet. I am afraid that they will try to take you and your friends, because Aricoth knows of you. My army will protect you as well as they can. Your mother is waiting, and I think she should not wait any longer. Let us take leave," the king finished. Ivy and her friends stood up, and headed out the door, Ivy still holding the handkerchief. "I am sorry, here you go." She handed the king back his cloth, and the king said, "Keep it. I have enough. My wife keeps making more and more. I think that is the only thing she knows how to make," added the king. He laughed, and then stopped as he saw that his wife was looking at him sternly. He smiled sheepishly.

Ivy, Tebirtha, and Milindir all followed the soldier, Frederick, down the ladders and over a bridge, and down one more ladder to the ground. There, there were horses waiting to take them to the Golden Tree. There were also about five more soldiers waiting for them, already on horses. One of them called out, "Are you three ready to go?"

"Yes," the friends said in unison. They looked at each other, then back at Oakmidge. "I have a feeling we won't see this place for a long time," said Ivy.

"I agree," said Tebirtha, and Milindir nodded. They got on their horses, and followed the six soldiers heading toward the Golden Tree. "This will be quite an adventure," Ivy muttered under her breath, as she rode on behind the soldiers, her friends behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

The soldiers in front of Ivy were whispering, and then one of them started laughing. They seemed to have been telling a joke, and he looked back at Ivy and winked. It was Frederick. Ivy smiled.

_I wonder how long it will take to get to the Golden Tree, _Ivy thought. She looked around for the first time at the forest surrounding her. It had a soft look. The trees seemed to move calmly, for there was a slight breeze blowing. Ivy's hair ruffled in front of her face. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and looked back on her two friends.

Milindir was looking off in the distance at a bird flying by, while Tebirtha was reading a map. She frowned, and then looked closer at the map. She smiled, folded the map, and then put it away. "Ivy, I think that we will get to the Golden Tree in about three days. That will give you enough time to learn more techniques for your archery," Tebirtha said. She smiled brightly at Ivy, then turned from her and looked in deep thought. Ivy looked forward again.

"I think we can manage to do that," said Frederick, overhearing Tebirtha. "In fact, why don't we stop now? We have been traveling for a long time, and we should find a place to stop for the night. Lenard, will you help Camaar set up the sleeping mats for our friends here?" he asked two of the soldiers. The troupe stopped, and Lenard and Camaar got off their horses, and started setting up the place to sleep. Ivy, Milindir, and Tebirtha got off their horses as well, and the other soldiers, Justor, Eldrich, Kemeth, and Frederick, followed. They all tied the horses to a branch that was on a tree, and Ivy retrieved her quiver and bow from Frederick.

Ivy walked away from the elves setting up camp and found a clearing a little ways from them. "Frederick, do you think that you could set up that log over there?" said Ivy, pointing to a log lying on the ground, as she saw that he was following her.

"Sure. Where do you want it?" he asked her as he picked it up and held it. Ivy replied, "Um, on that stump over there." She pointed towards a stump about a hundred feet away from her. Frederick walked quickly over to the stump and set the log on it as Ivy strung the arrow to her bow, and took aim. He stepped away, and then she fired.

"Yes! Right on the dot!" exclaimed Ivy as the arrow hit the center. Frederick walked over to the log and pulled it out, with some difficulty. "You have quite an arm for archery," said Frederick, smiling.

"I just started, not too long ago. I've been practicing, and my friends tell me that I get better every day. I don't like to brag, but I think I am getting better, too," she said to him, shrugging. She walked over to the log, and stood next to Frederick. He looked at her and said, "Would you like to shoot again?"

"Yes, but I want to talk to you first. I have a question that concerns you and your friends." She shifted in her spot, clearly uncomfortable. "Were you following us in the forest?" said Ivy. Frederick looked at her, confused. "What forest?" he asked nervously.

Ivy looked at him straight in the eye, and said sternly, "Milindir says that you were one of the soldiers that were chasing us in the forest when I was practicing my shots. So, were you one of the soldiers following us?" Ivy asked again.

"Well, yes," said Frederick, looking slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, but I had to find a way to get you to the nearest town, and luckily, you were close to Oakmidge. We, my fellow soldier Lenard and I, thought the only way to get you to there was to escort you, but your friend, Milindir, saw me and you ran away before we could tell you to come with us," he explained.

"Oh. We thought you were going to arrest us or something. I don't think we did anything wrong, but sorry that we ran. I suppose it would have made your life easier," apologized Ivy. She looked at him sheepishly and grinned. He smiled back, and then said, "So, how about that shooting? I would like to watch you again."

Ivy shrugged her shoulders, and walked back to her bow lying on the ground. She pulled another arrow from her quiver, and shot at the target again. "Nice shot!" said Frederick, as the arrow hit.

A few hours passed, and soon, Ivy and Frederick were going around and collecting the arrows. It was getting darker outside, and then Ivy heard a stick break, like it had been stepped on. She looked up from what she was doing and saw Lenard coming up to them. He stopped in front Ivy and Frederick, who also stopped searching the ground as well.

"Are you two done? The camp is set up. We are waiting for you both." He tapped his finger against his side, looking at them impatiently. "Almost, Lenard. We will be over there soon," said Frederick.

He turned to Ivy, and said, "Let's find the rest of your arrows, and then we will head back to camp. Are you hungry?"

"Oh, yes! I am," said Ivy excitedly.

"Well, we have rabbit with a wild onion, and it smells divine," said Lenard, as he walked away from them. Frederick nodded, and Ivy and he finished finding the arrows.

They walked up to the camp. Milindir and Tebirtha were sitting on the ground, eating some of the rabbit. It _did _smell excellent. Ivy took a deep breath and savored the smell. It smelled of wild and of onion, but it also had a woody smell to it. She noticed that there were hickory chips burning on the fire, and she sniffed again. Ivy always loved that smell, and because she was hungry, it made it all the better. She sat down between Milindir and Frederick, and Justor, one of the soldiers, handed her a small platter that had rabbit meat on it and some leaves next to it. It smelled nice, but it was meager food. She looked up at Justor and smiled. "Thank you," she said to him.

"You are quite welcome. You see, I added that leaf to it." He smiled. "I thought it would make it look prettier." He looked at the ground, and dug a small hole with his foot.

"It does make it look nice. Thank you, again." Ivy took a bite of the wonderful rabbit meat. It had a woody taste to it, and Ivy remembered the hickory chips, and smiled. She took another bite, and another, until it was gone and she looked at the platter with wanting, but she set it down, and said, "Now, who made this? It was really good!"

Lenard cleared his throat. "I made it, with the help of Tebirtha here, and Justor found the plants and herbs we used." Justor smiled widely, and nodded. "I found the rabbit," said Tebirtha, "and Lenard killed it with his hunting knife. While you were gone, Ivy, Milindir and I also looked at the map. We found a short cut that will cut our travel time in half, but it is very rocky and it is also on a hill."

"Good work, you two. Can I talk to you in private?" Ivy asked them. "Sure," said Tebirtha. They got up, and Ivy led them away from the campfire. "Um, I need to ask you a favor. Can you cover for me while I go and stretch my wings for a little while?" Ivy asked in a hushed voice. "Sure, sure, but don't take too long. We will be going to bed soon, and you have to get back before then," whispered Milindir.

"Thanks. I will see you in a couple of minutes." Ivy walked away from them, and they headed back to camp.

She looked around to see if anyone was there, and then she took off her cloak. There, beneath it, were her breathtaking wings of silver. She unfolded them and sighed. They spread very large, almost touching the trees she stood between. Ivy walked along until she came to the clearing where she had been shooting arrows. She walked to the middle of it, flapped her wings a couple of times, and she was lifted up into the air.

The air was cool tonight, and there still was a slight breeze. Ivy flapped her wings, and she went higher. Every time she flapped, they flashed silver, and she loved how they did that. No one could see her if they were looking because it was dark and she was wearing dark clothing, and because of her shielding magic. Only a true conjurer of magic could see her clearly, and anyone else could only see her shimmering in the sky if it were daytime.

Suddenly, she looked down and she saw two dark figures heading towards the campsite. She frowned, and dived down for a closer look. The elves in the campsite had no idea that these dark figures were near, and Ivy had to warn them. She saw flashing silver, and Ivy realized that they were carrying swords. Ivy flew back to the clearing, landed on the ground stoutly, and picked up her cloak lying on the ground. She put it on, and then quietly made her way to the campsite. Luckily, the dark figures were on the other side of the camp, so she didn't get caught.

Ivy saw Tebirtha sitting up on her mat, polishing her bow, and Ivy quickly walked over to her, and said quietly, "Tebirtha, there are two suspicious individuals coming up to the camp. I saw them sneaking over here, and they had swords. I think they will try to attack us."

"What do we do?" Tebirtha quietly asked back.

"Well, we warn the others in a quiet fashion, and when the invaders attack, we will be ready for them," said Ivy with satisfaction. She and Tebirtha walked quietly to the others in the camp and warned them of the attackers. Each elf retrieved his weapons, and waited anticipated for the attack to come.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Ivy heard rustling in the bushes, ever so quietly. She was lying on a mat, and then the two figures they were waiting for jumped out of the bushes, and started running towards the camp. Everybody jumped up from their mats and held their weapons to the two invader's heads. The troupe recognized the two suspects as elves. Yes, these were the two in the forest Ivy had seen, all right.

The weapons the elves were holding were not familiar to Ivy, and she looked at them with interest. They were long, slender swords, and embedded in the hilt of them, there was a small half moon made of amethyst. Both of the elves were wearing a black tunic with a single half moon on it, and below the moon, there was a dark purple river curving slightly. Frederick had pulled out a large silver broadsword and was holding to one of the elves' neck.

"How do we know we can trust you?" asked Frederick roughly. "How did you know we were here? Who sent you here?"

The elf with the tunic suddenly smiled maliciously. He said with a smirk, "Aricoth sent us here, and we will not tell you any more." The elf looked away, and was silent.

"How about you?" Frederick asked the other elf. The elf looked at Frederick, and said, "I too will tell you nothing. Ask away, but my brother and I will be silent." Frederick said, "Your brother?" He puzzledly looked at them both. They seemed to be identical twins.

Ivy started to feel a deep anger forming in the pit of her stomach. "Why did Aricoth send you here?" she asked sharply. The two brothers looked surprised. "Why do you need to know, miss? Who are you to be talking to us?" they said in unison.

"I am Ivy of Elemoor. I am sure your master has heard of me, and I am also sure that he won't be pleased when his two officers have gone missing and he doesn't know anything about why that happened," Ivy said smoothly. She grinned tastefully at the two brothers, letting her words sink in. The two elves looked at each other, and then the first one said, "My name is Remi and my brother's name is Remo. We are pleased to know that you are Ivy, because we are going to take you now."

He suddenly lurched forward and tried to tackle her, as well as his brother, but two of the soldiers, Eldrich and Justor, jumped on top of them, and wrestled them to the ground. "Quick! Get some rope!" yelled Justor, as the two brothers struggled to be free. Lenard ran to the horses and retrieved some rope from the saddlebags. They tied the hands and feet of the two brothers, and set them down hard on the ground.

"We will get away, you can be sure of that!" said Remi. He struggled in his restraints, and then stopped. He looked at Ivy and the others with distaste. Remo nodded his head and looked at Ivy with hatred. They both turned from the group, and Ivy motioned for the others to come with her. She walked away from the brothers to another spot well away from hearing.

Ivy whispered to Frederick, Milindir, and the others, "We need to give them back to Aricoth. They can't stay with us forever."

"Why? If we set them free, they will just come back after us!" said Frederick.

"If we don't, more will be coming after them if they don't return," Ivy shot back.

Milindir said, "Frederick has a point, Ivy. We have to keep them long enough until we get to the Golden Tree. There, we can hand them to the army, and they can deal with them. Do we have horses to spare?"

"Yes, if I don't ride my horse. I can walk along side them, just to make sure they don't do anything funny. Justor, can you retrieve their weapons from them?" said Lenard.

Justor nodded. He walked over to them, and forcefully grabbed them from the brothers. "You won't be needing these, my 'friends'." He smirked at them, and then walked back to the group, holding the two enemies' swords. "Here, Frederick. I don't know what to do with them. Maybe you do."

"Justor, I want you to hold onto them. When we get to the Golden Tree, you can give them to the armory, and they can use them." Frederick handed back the swords to him, and turned to Ivy. "Ivy, I think we should leave now. I know we didn't get to stop long, but we must get going now. There will be more after us if we don't leave, as you said. I feel that you are in grave danger, at least until we arrive at the Golden Tree." He looked very serious now, and Ivy felt nervous. She looked around cautiously.

"I suppose we should leave. Milindir? Tebirtha? We need to go now. Everybody, get your things packed up, and untie the horses. As soon as we are ready, we are leaving," said Ivy hurriedly. She walked over to her mat, rolled it up, and picked up the rest of her belongings. She walked back to her horse and put her things in the sidesaddle bags.

She thought about the wizard Aricoth. Why would he want to see her now? Why not two years ago? Why not three? The questions rumbled around in her head, and she sighed. It seemed as though her life were going to get a lot more hectic if she didn't do something soon.

Frederick hurried over to Ivy. "Is everybody set to leave?" Ivy looked around. "I think so." People were rushing about, helping put the fire out or removing their items. "Is everybody ready to leave this place?" Ivy shouted to the rest of the elves. "Yes," answered back some weary voices.

Everybody untied their horses and mounted them. Ivy got on her chestnut colored horse, and turned around. "Frederick, I hope you know the fastest route to the Golden Tree. Everybody's ready, and we need to go fast." She started making her way up the trail. The rest of the entourage followed. Frederick urged his horse forward, and sidled up next to Ivy.

"Do you mind if I stay up here with you for a while? It sure would do me good to be with someone who isn't planning on taking over the world," he said to her, laughing slightly.

Ivy looked at him, puzzled. "Who is trying to take over the world?"

"Um, well, you know what I mean, you know?" he stammered. He looked at her. "I mean that those two elves were working for someone who is going to _try _to take over the world."

"Oh, I see what you mean. You are trying to make conversation with me, and it is working. Keep talking and maybe I'll answer back," she teased. Ivy flipped her hair, and then looked back at the group following.

Frederick looked back also. Lenard was mouthing to Frederick something, but he couldn't make it out. He looked at Lenard with confusion. Lenard motioned for Frederick to come to him. Frederick turned to Ivy, who had come back forward. "Um, Ivy, could you excuse me for a moment? I need to go talk to one of my comrades." She nodded at him.

He turned his horse, and galloped back to Lenard. Lenard leaned over to Frederick, and whispered, "You need to say more to her. Keep the conversation going. Try talking about something you know she likes. I can tell that she likes you, and if you like her, maybe something will work out between you and her." He raised an eyebrow at Frederick, and laughed softly. "She is very pretty, mind you."  
"What are you saying? And when did you become such an expert on girls? I do not see anything happening between us, even if I wanted it to happen," Frederick pouted. He looked up at Ivy, and inwardly smiled.

Ivy thought about what Frederick had said to her. Why would someone be trying to take over the world? Why would he need everyone under his wing? Ivy thought hard about this. She was shaken out of her thoughts by Frederick touching her shoulder.  
"Ivy? We are about a half day away from the Golden Tree. Are you ready to be there?" asked Frederick. He looked at her closely. She was smiling. "Why are you smiling?"

She shrugged. "I am glad you are here with me. My friends won't even hang around this much with me. I wonder why. Maybe it is because I am not a fun person."

"You are very much a fun person, Ivy. I enjoy being with you because you brighten my day and my job," Frederick said with joy.  
Ivy looked at him with fascination. "Oh, yes? And why do I brighten your day _and_ your job?" She raised her eyebrow, and a small smile appeared on her lightly colored face.

"I say that you brighten my day because I usually don't hang out this much with my friends, especially Lenard, and he is my best friend. And, I say that you brighten my job because you know, I really didn't want this job when I started. What I really wanted to be was a baker. My father always told me that I would have his job when he died, which was this one, but I always thought that I could be a baker someday. Well, I'm not a baker, but I am glad to have this job, and you are one of the reasons that I like it." He looked at her almond shaped green eyes, and grabbed her hand. He kissed it on the top, and grinned.

Ivy looked at him. "That is a very long explanation, and I must say, I enjoy being with you, too. You are very sweet." She pulled out a mirror. "You need to see yourself right now. You look so silly!"

He took the plain mirror and looked at himself. He did look ridiculous. His dirty blond hair was tousled, and there was dirt smeared all over his face. He handed back the mirror, and looked at his clothes. They were dirty, too, and the sleeve of his golden tunic was torn slightly. He looked back at the rest of his crew and Ivy's two friends. Everybody had their own fair share of dirtiness. He laughed.

"Ivy, I think we need to get their faster. We are not running from enemies, but the dirt on our backs." He looked at his clothes again.

Ivy looked at herself. She was dirty as well. "Frederick, I don't think a little dirt will hurt us. We are fine. Our pace is fine as well. Don't worry about dirt." She giggled at her dirtiness, and then stopped at his look. He was looking over her shoulder. "What do you see?"

"I thought I just saw someone in the woods. I hope we aren't being followed," said Frederick quietly. He looked in the woods again. Ivy looked as well. She saw some branches being rustled.

"Frederick, I'm sure it was just a bird or something. Nothing to worry about," Ivy assured him. Just then, she saw a flash. It was just like what she had seen when she was flying about. "Um, I think I just saw someone there," whispered Ivy to Frederick.

"Where?" He looked around, but saw nothing. "Ivy, are you sure you saw something? What did it look like?"

Ivy looked back to Frederick. "It was a flash, like a sword was being pulled out. I think we have company. Get ready for something." Ivy pulled her horse back to the others in the group, and whispered the same message to get their weapons ready by their side. Everyone had their hand by some sort of weapon, and Ivy went back up to Frederick.  
"Everyone is ready for something, whatever it is that is going to attack. I just hope it is one, and not a whole group," Ivy whispered to him. She looked nervously around at the forest surrounding them.

_Just our luck_, thought Ivy. _There are more following us, and we don't really have a long way to go._ She looked at Milindir and Tebirtha. They looked nervous as well. Milindir had his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Tebirtha had her bow at her side and her quiver was on her shoulder. The rest of the men in the group each had their swords ready, and Frederick brandished his out of the sheath.

Ivy grabbed an arrow out of her quiver, and just then, about seven elves jumped out of the bushes, and their swords were in hand. They all were wearing the same emblems that the other two elves were wearing that they had captured. The first elf, who seemed to be the leader, said to Frederick, "You, sir. You seem of a leader. Let our people out of your grasp, and we will leave peacefully and there will be no skirmish."

"I don't think so. These two elves are prisoners, and you are not getting them back," said Lenard, somewhere behind Ivy. The head elf looked over at him, and sneered. "Very well, we shall have to fight you." He raised his sword, and everyone got off their horse, and stood with their weapons raised as well. Ivy put her bow and arrow away, and pulled out her lightly-made, emerald-embedded sword as well. This seemed to be a sword fight, and luckily, Ivy also knew how to brandish a sword with ease. She had taken lessons from Milindir's father, who had made the sword for her when she passed her lessons with him.

They charged at each other. There were some grunts and yells, and Ivy even heard a scream from somewhere to her left, but she could not see a thing, because dirt was being kicked up everywhere. Suddenly, a sword slashed out at her, and she blocked swiftly with one move. It was the head elf that had spoken to them. He started thrusting his sword at her, and she easily blocked every move. He then swirled to the right, and disappeared into the dust. She looked around for him, waiting, and then he jumped out behind her. She turned around, but not soon enough. The sword caught at her arm, and a bright red line of blood appeared on her arm. The pain came in a wave, and Ivy screamed out loud. The elf looked satisfied. She screamed and slammed her sword against his, and a great _twang _rang through the forest and around them. She started parrying against him harder than before. She could see the beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, and she went harder. He was tiring. She had never fought so hard in her life.

Frederick was fighting two of the elves, alongside Milindir and Lenard. His large broadsword was doing the trick to the elves, for they seemed to have never fought against this kind of power. Milindir thrust his sword forward at one of the elves, and caught his sword between the ribs of the elf. The elf looked down at the sword, then back up at Milindir with a look of pain and pure anger. He pulled the sword from his body, and threw it to the ground. Milindir backed up from the forwarding elf, and tripped over a rock protruding from the ground. He fell to the ground, and started to crawl backwards. The injured elf pointed his sword at Milindir, walking slowly towards him. He began to raise the sword, when he fell over, with Lenard having his sword raised from hitting him on the head with the hilt. Lenard shrugged, and then rushed back to Frederick, who seemed to have felled the other elf. Milindir sighed.

Tebirtha was somewhat a little ways away from Frederick, and she was fighting an elf, which looked like a harder match than she could handle. Justor ran over to help her, and the elf he had been fighting followed him, and occupied him from helping Tebirtha. The elf furiously fought Justor, and then he slashed at the elf's leg, and cut a deep gash into it, leaving the elf lying on the ground, grabbing at his cut leg. Justor jumped over the injured elf, and ran back to help Tebirtha, who had been cut on the hand, and was fighting with her sword in the other hand. He looked at the elf she was fighting, and ran behind him. He jumped on top of the large elf's shoulders, and removed the sword from the elf's hand with one blow to his hand. The elf screamed out, and reached back and pulled Justor off, and threw him on the ground. Tebirtha ran behind the large elf, and stuck her sword into his back. Instantly the large elf slumped over. Tebirtha sighed, and put out her hand to pull up Justor, only to be met by another elf waving a large sword.

The other elves that had been with the small ambush had run away, and the two prisoners had disappeared with them. Ivy closed her and yelled up at the sky. The fight had been for nothing! She kneeled to the ground and jabbed the sword into the ground. _Those two knew where we were, and now they are free, _she thought.

She wondered where the rest of the group had been when they got away. She then found her answer. Eldrich and Kemeth were lying on the ground, motionless, and Camaar was not far away. He had a small hand knife stuck in his heart, and he was wheezing. "Please, Frederick," he whispered to Frederick, who was keeling next to him. "Don't let them get away. They killed my two best friends. Take revenge. Please…" He gasped, then softly sighed and closed his eyes.

Frederick sighed deeply, and then rose. He looked at Ivy sorrowfully. "We must go on. We have to keep going to the Golden Tree." He saw the anger in her face, and then said to her softly, "We have to go on. Don't worry. We will get them, but we must get there first. I will tell my advisor of this, and he will take care of it."

"I guess you are right. What do we do with the extra horses? We can't leave them here," Ivy said with insistency. She looked over at the fallen soldiers. "We have to do something with them, too. I don't mean to be sound rude, but they have to go somewhere."

Tebirtha came over to Ivy. She said to her, "We can have someone come back for them. They can bury them, and when we get to the Golden Tree, we can have someone tell their families of the… accident."

Ivy got on her horse, and so did everyone else. She sighed, and started to cry silently. Frederick came up next to her, leaned over and gave her a hug. Ivy returned the favor, and spurred her horse to go forward.


End file.
